Wednesday, January 31, 2007

This morning was crazy. My four year old meandered and dawdled and wasted time and made us totally late. Late as in, when everyone else was ready to go she was naked, in the bathroom, and had eaten nothing. Argh! So I rushed her into her clothes and made her a sandwich (which I wrapped in a paper napkin and shoved in my pocket) and sped the girls to school. Then I left Razi in the car while I ran them in and didn't even bother to sign them in. I never leave the kids alone in the car like that! But I knew we were already late for his orthodontist appointment and I was freaking out.

So then we hurried over to the orthodontist, who is practically around the corner from the preschool thank heaven, and they started by cleaning his teeth. They said the whole appointment would take two to two and a half hours and I could run errands if I wanted; so when about twenty minutes had passed and they really didn't seem to need me, I went to the supermarket and bought some essentials. (How are we always out of chocolate milk and bananas?) And then I went to Target and bought him practically a whole new wardrobe. He's grown out of almost every pair of pants because he’s sort of tall and very skinny. He has my childhood body. I bought him four pairs of pants and two long sleeve shirts and a sweater. I only spent about $56 because I tried my hardest to buy only things that were on sale. Also we probably won't keep all of it. We'll decide what to keep and what to return tonight – with his father’s help. Joshua's gonna get roped in because buying the boy new clothes was his idea!

Then I went back to the orthodontist and Razi was almost done getting his braces on and wired and everything. The most relaxing part of my day so far has been sitting in the orthodontist's waiting room, reading People magazine!

When Razi was done we rushed through checking out because I had this stupid idea that I would get him all the way across town (a 15 minute drive) to his school, then drive 15 minutes back to pick his sisters up, then all the way back home another 15 minutes in the car to get the girls and myself home. But I realized, thank goodness, that I was being an idiot. So we picked his sisters up 15 minutes early instead of 20 minutes late. And I left him in the car again. There goes ‘mother of the year.’

Then I brought him to school and I had to go inside and sign him in and I just left both of the girls in the car while I went in and dropped him off. My goodness, what is the matter with me?! At least I could see the van from inside the school office. I couldn't see it at all from inside the synagogue/preschool. Then I brought the girls home, got them in the house, fed Lilah a lunchy sort of snacky thing while I ferried a ton of junk into the house, put Lilah down for her nap and closed the door on her while she screamed, and poked at the laundry with a pointy stick. Yowza, I need a nap!

Now I need to make Zora her pasta and peas, cycle through more and yet more laundry, and maybe catch a breather for a few minutes.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Zora and I went to Miami, Florida last weekend. My oldest cousin’s two oldest children had a joint bar/bat mitzvah ceremony, and Zora and I went and represented the whole Indiana branch of the clan. Zora had a really marvelous time, and I could not be more proud of her. She stayed up really late both Friday and Saturday nights and she was a perfect little delight the whole weekend anyway.

We flew in and out of Indianapolis the very weekend of the playoff game, and wow, the fever over the football thing was everywhere. Not my thing, but it seemed to put everyone in a good mood, and that was a very nice side effect.

The weather in Miami was fantastic. I actually took a nap outside on Saturday afternoon. Considering that when I checked the weather for Indianapolis on the internet the next morning I learned that at home it was 27 degrees and snowing, that was a nice break.

If my high school buddy Stephanie still reads this blog she should put down her coffee so she doesn't spill it while she laughs at me. We always had really, really different taste in music.

For Hanukah I got a couple of itunes cards. Thirty dollars buys twenty-eight songs when sales tax is six cents on the dollar. So, I took a bit of time and thought and bought myself twenty-eight songs. Quite a few of them were very contemporary songs, released in 2006. I bought songs from Keane, Snow Patrol, Placebo, KT Tunsdall, etc.

But. I also bought some stuff that was much, much older. No Stephanie, no Lionel Ritchie. ;)

I bought some stuff from the early 00's and late 90's that I never really got out of my head, even after my favorite radio station had long stopped playing them, songs like Self Esteem by The Offspring and Roll to Me by Del Amitri.

I bought some amazing covers of great original songs, like Placebo covering Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill, or the powerful and astonishing cover Johnny Cash did of Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nail's song, Hurt.

And I bought a song I had last heard when I was in high school. I’m lucky U2 even bothered to release it, frankly, but it might be the most memorable U2 song I’ve ever heard. It's called Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl, and I only knew it existed because of this radio show I used to stay up far too late listening to.

Stephanie, do you remember KEGL? Stephanie and I went to high school in Texas, where the radio stations use call letters that start with "K" and "Q" instead of "W." I can't remember the show's name, or the DJs name, but he played the most alternative of new wave stuff late on Sunday nights, and I adored that radio show. He introduced me to a lot of artists I still love, and some I will never, ever be able to find anywhere again but in my memories.

I am almost completely certain the show was local to the Dallas area, as he played tapes from local bands fairly often. I still remember loving an electronic-style song from a band in Denton, Texas. Hey, it was the mid-eighties.

I also bought some songs that can only be called “old” by rock and roll reckoning. My parents, who only like music by dead people, would laugh at calling something released in my lifetime “old,” but rock is a little different than Mozart.

Superstition by Stevie Wonder is a pretty old song. 20th Century Boy by Placebo is pretending to be an old song, though of course, it isn’t really. But the oldest songs I chose were released by a man who is now dead. I wonder if that would make the songs more appealing to my parents?

One of These Things First and Cello Song by Nick Drake are lovely, lovely things, written by a man who died the year my little brother was born. If you haven’t heard his music, I strongly suggest you look him up. If you like folk music, rock music, what is often called “singer-songwriter” music, and/or guitar music, then you should give him a listen. I used to have his entire catalog, as I bought the box set. I haven’t been able to find it since my last move, which is making me a little crazy. I don’t usually spend money on the same thing twice, but I had to hear Drake sing again.

Really though, I think the point I started with in my mind when I started this post, was that it makes me feel a bit old to still love songs that were written and released so long ago. It’s that U2 song that really does it to me. It’s one thing to love an artist you discovered a decade or two after his death, but to love a song when it was new, and still love it more than twenty years later, reminds one that those twenty years have, indeed, passed one by.

Shake it off, baby. Life is great and you’re still young.

And for those who are still curious, here's the entire list. :)

This Is Us by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou HarrisBoom, Like That by Mark KnopflerMy Own Two Hands by Ben Harper & Jack JohnsonLoser by Beck Girl by BeckTrash, Trampoline and the Party Girl by U2Self Esteem by The OffspringSteady As She Goes by The RaconteursOne of These Things First by Nick DrakeCello Song by Nick DrakeIs It Any Wonder? by KeaneChasing Cars by Snow PatrolSuperstition by Stevie WonderChocolate by Snow Patrol20th Century Boy by PlaceboRunning Up That Hill by PlaceboRoll to Me by Del AmitriHands Open by Snow PatrolColorful by Rocco DeLuca & The BurdenSuddenly I See by KT TunstallNothing In My Way by KeaneEverybody's ChangingSomewhere Only We Know by KeaneCrooked Teeth by Death Cab for CutieSoul Meets Body by Death Cab for CutieThink I'm In Love by Beck The Information (Bonus Video Version)Other Side of the World by KT TunstallHurt by Johnny Cash

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

lilah loves socks and shoes. we often tell people that her favorite things in the world are shoes and phones. she will take almost any smallish rectangular or square thing, put it up to her ear and "talk" into it as though it were a phone. this part is cute.

she likes to put on her sister's shoes and walk around in them. she also has a pair of shiny red boots that i bought for her at goodwill that she utterly adores. she wears them often and has finally learned how to put them on (untied) all by herself. this part is also cute.

but she has a habit now of pulling her socks on, all the way up, and then getting angry when they won't go higher. and when i say angry, really what i mean is unmitigated screaming fury. when the sock is all the way up she starts screaming and throwing a huge tantrum. if she can manage it, she'll hurt other people. yes, intentionally. yes, over a sock.

it's funny and sad and ridiculous, all at the same time. and this part is not cute.

Monday, January 08, 2007

I just read a blogger post from a friend where she talks about her ten favorite foods, and I got inspired. I don't think I have ten favorite foods to eat, but I am sure I can think of ten favorite foods to talk about. ;)

1: Lamb chops. you ask what my favorite food is, it's easy. My mom used to make lamb chops all the time when I was a kid and I would get grease everywhere, fighting with the bone to get every last molecule in my mouth. I never eat them anymore because I don't really buy red meat (except in sandwich meat I guess) but I can still almost taste my mom's lamb chops. yummmm.....

2: Cholesterol cake. That's what I call it in my head, anyway. it's a recipe I modified. it's officially called "strawberry yogurt pound cake" but when I double the recipe I add two eggs, making a total of ten. it also has chocolate chips, twelve ounces of yogurt, and two full sticks of butter. my kids call it "breakfast cake" and love it. I make it fairly frequently. why? because my son is something of an unofficial vegan. by which I do not mean he is philosophically choosing not to eat animal products. what I mean is, he has a short, short list of foods he's willing to eat, and eggs isn't on it. actually, protein is barely on it. we're still dancing jigs that he starting being willing to eat peanut butter, because until I "invented" breakfast cake he wasn't eating protein. now he gets it from peanut butter and breakfast cake. I’m actually pretty proud of it. :)

3: Avers Pizza. That would be a small, local pizza chain. they're amazing. I don't bother buying pizza from anyone else anymore. we have Avers every single week now. it's tradition. :)

4: Broccoli. For a while there it seemed like scientists were declaring a new reason broccoli was healthy every month or two. which was nice, but pure gravy, really, because there is no finer vegetable. I ADORE broccoli. I could eat it every single day.

5: I love tea. I even have a very handsome, and profoundly dusty, teapot collection. but really, it's all about the tea. what kills me is that as I age I find that certain teas bother my stomach now, and I don't know why yet. it doesn't seem to be the caffeine, it doesn't seem to be the milk.... I have to figure out what it is because I drink tea all day, and I’d like to drink more flavours!

6: Brown rice. I read somewhere while the Atkins diet craze was making the news that we talk about people having a "sweet tooth" or a "fat tooth" but really, a lot of folks have a "carb tooth." oh, yeah. give me carbs. rice, pasta, potatoes... and then more rice. and for dessert? ice cream would be nice, but could I have fettuccini alfredo, instead?

7: Indian food. Don't know how to cook it myself, so I only eat it in restaurants. their breads are so cool, and those stews... I love Indian food.

8: Canned pears. My older daughter gets intermittently obsessed with them. she won't ask for them for ages and then suddenly she would happily eat two huge cans a day if I let her. this lasts for a week or three, and then snap! and she's done again. it's a little weird.

Friday, January 05, 2007

I took my seven year old son to the Orthodontist today. They do these things differently these days. I got braces at ten, and, at the time, that was remarkably young. But my dentist recommended orthodonture for Razi when he was four, if I recall correctly. That sounded insane to me, but as time passed it was clear that he had an underbite and perhaps some crowding.

Long story short, he needs braces. He had a lot of baby teeth pulled a few months ago, but he still needs braces. And, of course, it is going to cost a few thousand dollars.

Today alone was $330.

Luckily the girls seem to have good teeth. Which, considering that I was a metal-mouth for seven years, and his paternal grandfather never wore them but really should have, well, one out of three (if that is how it turns out) is awfully lucky.

The women at the Orthodontist's office are very nice. He needed two X-rays today, plus impressions of both the top and the bottom teeth. I was nearby while two of them worked to keep him still for the X-ray (panoramic X-rays are a real challenge for a little kid) and then I sort of watched while this nice woman worked her tail off to get Razi to cooperate for the impressions. Poor kid. He had no idea what was going on, but they managed to get both impressions. Yay! Hopefully he'll not have to do that again. But if he does, I am confident that those nice women will be just as patient and helpful the next time, too.